


Coffee, soju and stolen scarves

by saienti



Series: Saienti's fictober 2020 [4]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Cringe, Dejun is a secret admirer, Fictober 2020, Fluff, Happy Ending, Kun is too old for anything and everything, Kun owns a coffee shop, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Qian Kun-centric, Sickeningly Sweet, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, basically what the fuck did i just write, especially fluuff, i dont know how to write fluuff pls, okay i shall stop here, or maybe here, should i be ashamed, yes here is a great point to stop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:02:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27109945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saienti/pseuds/saienti
Summary: He is cut off as one of their regulars walks up at the register. The only regular they have actually. Who may or may not have caught Kun’s attention the second he entered his shop. How could he not notice when a literal angel decided to grace them with his presence? Kun has been stealing glances for weeks, basically since they opened to be precise. He is ashamed for indulging himself in peeking under his bangs but unable to stop. People that ethereal should be banned from normal society.
Relationships: Qian Kun/Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun
Series: Saienti's fictober 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952755
Kudos: 33





	Coffee, soju and stolen scarves

**Author's Note:**

> welp yes the second last part of my participation for fictober 2020  
> i wanted something tooth rottingly fluffy before the last oneshot i will post. because we will all need to go back to this again after finishing my final entry lmfao  
> i hope u enjoy this, i am not very good at writing fluff soooo bare with me!

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

“Okay, so, I know you said-” Sicheng begins in a quiet voice, but shuts up the second he meets Kun’s gaze.  
“Then you know better than to bring this up. Again.” he sighs, feeling a bit bad for coming off harsh but he really couldn’t care less about some customer having the hots for him.  
“But he-”  
“Sicheng. Please. I have tons of stuff to do, this café isn’t gonna run itself. There is too much on my plate already, I have to order new mugs for next week and also call the plumber to fix that fu-” he halts himself, this is not the place for curses. “- that pipe in the storage room. And then I have to fix all of the inventory. I’ll probably be here until at least 11 pm, and can’t be bothered with some flimsy boy who wants to take me for coffee. Why would I want that, anyways? I own a whole ass coffee shop myself, it would be like- like-” he is cut off as one of their regulars walks up at the register. The only regular they have actually. Who may or may not have caught Kun’s attention the second he entered his shop. How could he not notice when a literal angel decided to grace them with his presence? Kun has been stealing glances for weeks, basically since they opened to be precise. He is ashamed for indulging himself in peeking under his bangs but unable to stop. People that ethereal should be banned from normal society.  
Sicheng jumps to help him, and Kun filters off to the background. There is a shitload of paperwork left and Sicheng has Yangyang around to help with orders for at least another two hours, so he can get away with not being at the bar area for a while.  
As soon as he plops down on the chair by the office desk, he sighs deeply. He knows Sicheng just wants him to get out and meet people since he has said many times Kun spends all his hours at the café. But this shop is Kun’s _baby_ . He has worked so hard to be able to open up his own café, and even though it’s too much paperwork he’d rather not deal with, he loves it to bits. Although it _would_ be nice to be behind the counter, making foamy cappuccinos, or swirl steaming milk into a delicate flower on top of freshly brewed espresso, creating the perfect latte. Ah, he truly misses the art of hand made coffee drinks.  
“Focus, Kun. You wanted to have your own shop, and make your own rules. Otherwise you could’ve just applied as a barista at a fucking Starbucks or something.” he scolds himself. But it’s hard. These past weeks has had his mind swimming dangerously far away from where it should be. Ever since Sicheng started mentioning a customer who has taken interest in Kun, specifically. He has never seen the man, so he seems to be careful to not voice his intentions to Kun himself. But all of his hired baristas have apparently met with this mysterious admirer. And despite himself, he has found himself getting more curious than he would ever admit. He doesn’t have time for this. And frankly, he is much too old to fall for such a cliché romantic movie scenario. That man doesn’t even know Kun. For all he knows, Kun can be a serial killer on the side. Or a mafia boss. Kun can look intimidating as fuck, if he does say so himself.  
Still, he can’t quite let the idea go.

☆

It’s a quiet Sunday night, and Kun roams around the shop, looking over details while Ten is closing down. Kun has no actual reason to be here, but he has gotten way too side tracked because of this silly romantic sitcom situation and if anybody is going to tell him what has happened, it’s Ten.  
When Kun senses that the barista is all done, he straightens his back.  
“Chittaphon, can you come here for a moment?” he asks, peering at one of the small decorative cats sitting atop a pink shelf.  
“It’s nerve wracking when you call me by my birth name.” Ten sighs, but pads over obediently. “Is it about the customer?”  
Kun turns towards him, baffled. How in the-  
“Oh, come on. You can’t possibly think you’re subtle, Kun-ge? You’re as obvious as someone with a megaphone in a library.”  
At first, Kun wants to renounce these accusations. This is _slander_ . But curiosity has taken over a long time ago, and now that he is so close it’s impossible to deny himself.  
“Uh- yeah. Who is he?”  
Ten laughs that weird, high pitched shriek he does when he is feeling a little extra villainous.  
“That is for me to know, and for you to find out.”  
Kun feels a surge of want to commit arson, but stops himself. That won’t look good on his resume.  
“What? You need to get out more. Did you really think I was letting you off the hook that easily? You have to talk to him yourself.”  
“But I’ve- how? I have never even seen him?”  
“Think real hard. Are you sure about that statement?” is the last clue Ten offers before sneaking out the back door, leaving Kun in deep thought.

☆

Days pass without Kun getting remotely closer to figuring out who this man is. He tries reading up about body language and eye contact to help him, but so far nobody acts the way they should according to the six different websites he would never admit he has open on his browser in his phone. He is out in the bar area more hours than not, so much so that his baristas seem to wonder if he’s slowly going insane in the office.  
“Are you sure there is enough air behind there?” Xuxi asks, his big eyes concerned. “I’ve never seen you this… clingy.”  
Kun snorts.  
“I’m not clingy.”  
All the baristas working today turn towards him, meaning looks on their faces. Kun throws his hands up in the air.  
“Okay. This is bullying! You told me to talk to the mystery man myself. And I am curious as to how I would do that trapped inside a 200 square feet prison cell concealed as an office?” he yells with underwhelming volume, and Yangyang folds in half while screaming of laughter with an overwhelming volume. Which causes Guanheng to laugh even louder, making Sicheng snicker and Ten smile. Xuxi just looks like he missed the whole joke. To be fair, Kun wasn’t trying to joke. He can’t help that his baristas collectively have a terrible sense of humor.  
“What’s so funny?”  
Yangyang looks like he is about to answer but all that comes out are another fit of giggles, this time accompanied with a hefty fountain of saliva.  
“You.” Ten deadpans. Kun shoots him a questioning glance. “You act like you’re not interested in being the center of this real life coffee shop AU, but then you try to pry information from us, clearly not intending on letting the situation go. And it’s hilarious watching you dance around the subject with two left feet.”  
Just as Kun is about to scold them on how to properly treat your elder (who also happens to be your boss), complete with PowerPoint and everything, there is a soft cough by the register.  
“Excuse me?” their regular smiles awkwardly, one hand playing with the short hairs on the back of his head. Ten skitters over, and Kun blushes. They really stood in the bar area whisper-screaming about Kun’s weird drama situation, where anybody could have heard them. What if their regular heard them? What if the _secret admirer_ heard them, if he is even here? Kun needs to hide, so he dips his head in a quick bow towards their regular, earning the sweetest little beaming grin from him.  
“This conversation is not over. I swear I’m having a PowerPoint lecture after closing hours.” he wheezes under his breath before he flees the scene.

☆

He doesn’t have a PowerPoint lecture, but they still stay a bit later than they usually would, just talking and hanging out.  
“When is our first after work, Kun-ge?” Xuxi asks, and the others gather around curiously.  
“You’re too young, all of you, kids. We can drink apple juice and play Monopoly.” Kun jokes, but he is lowkey serious. These are his children, they can’t be trusted to drink beer and eat peanuts and _flirt_ . Absolutely not on Kun’s watch.  
“Oh come on! We are all at least twenty. And I drink beer with my homies, so there isn’t anything to it I haven’t already done!” Yangyang complains, eyes big and begging. Kun sighs, and stands up to fetch soju from the secret stash he keeps for the long hours alone when he is doing inventory.  
He comes back with an armful of alcohol, and his baristas cheer loudly. They settle on the couches in the furthest corner of the shop, opening bottles and clink them against each other. Ten has scurried towards the fridges to get some leftover cake for them while Guanheng rushed to the store to get salty snacks. It is very improvised, but Kun finds himself enjoying it more than he thought he would.  
A few drinks later they are all comfortably tipsy, and Ten takes every opportunity to sit in everybodies lap at least once, before settling on Xuxi’s strong thighs.  
“Kun-ge. Do you wanna know what I did?” Guanheng pipes up. Kun focuses on him, nodding even though he is sure he does not want to know whatever prank Guanheng is about to reveal. “I actually- actually stole your admirer’s scarf!”  
Ten squeals in delight and Yangyang yells.  
“You did _what_ ?!” Kun questions, suddenly feeling very sober. “You can’t just steal our customer’s clothing! Why don’t you buy your own damn scarf?”  
“Kun-ge, you’re so dumb. Of course he didn’t steal it for himself.” Ten chimes in, blonde hair flopping onto one side as he turns towards Kun.  
“Then why in the world would he- _no_ . Please say you didn’t do it for him to come find it?”  
Guanheng screeches with mirth, nodding frantically. Kun falls back against the soft couch pillows, regretting everything since opening this damn café.  
“And it’s cold today, so I’m sure he will come around very soon.” Guanheng mutters, nodding at his bottle of soju before taking a swig. “My clever little head.”  
“You’re literally the stupidest person I know.” Yangyang snorts, causing Guanheng to put him in a headlock until he begs for mercy.  
The knock on the glass door startles all of them, and Kun immediately gets up to see who it is. He is stopped in his tracks when he sees their regular outside. What on earth could he want at this time?  
“Who is it?” Ten asks loudly, even though he sounds like he knows the answer to that question already.  
“Our regular.” Kun says over his shoulder before scurrying over the tiled floor to see what he wants. He swings the door open into the cold night, ushering the man inside.  
“Good evening. What are you doing outside at this time? And why are you not wearing a scarf? It looks too cold for this weather!” Kun scolds him, his motherly side coming through instantly. He can hear the others laugh at him over where they are situated.  
Their regular smiles awkwardly, hugging his shoulder to get warm.  
“Funny story, actually. I- uh- I was told to-”  
He is interrupted by a loud scream as Guanheng zooms forward and stands between them, his back towards Kun. He does some weird, erratic head movements against their regular that looks painful for his neck before turning around to face Kun.  
“See, I think he forgot his scarf here!” Guanheng winks. “I’ll go fetch it. Why don’t you come inside? We have soju.”  
Kun opens his mouth to protest, they really shouldn’t get this comfy with customers. It takes him a few seconds to then understand what Guanheng said. He forgot his-  
“Scarf.” he breathes out, staring at the man.  
“Yes. Scarf.” their regular repeats, offering a half smile. They stand there for an unknown amount of time, Guanheng doesn’t come back with his scarf. _This is his secret admirer_ . Kun’s throat is dry, he has nothing appropriate to say. He hasn’t ever gotten this far in his plans of talking to him. In fact his plans only got to the point where he finds out who his secret admirer is, and then he closes the shop and moves to Sweden. Or something like that. Dramatic and effective. But now that he is here, right in front of this man, he has to at least _try_ to say something.  
“Wait- you’re-”  
“Can I get your number?” the other man cuts him off, grinning brightly as he fiddles with his sleeves. “I mean, only if you- uh- want to. I just think- eh- you’re like very pretty.”  
“You don’t even know my name.” Kun answers, mentally slapping himself.  
“It’s literally in the name of the shop.” Ten provides as he slinks past them to go to the bathroom.  
“Kun. It suits you.” their regular awkwardly tries flirting. It’s so stupid it’s bordering on endearing.  
“And your name..?” Kun says after a few beats of silence, giggling because this is so absurd.  
“Oh, I’m sorry. Dejun. Xiao Dejun.” he scrambles to hold out his hand. It’s trembling a bit and Kun’s heart melts, taking it and gives it a firm shake.  
“Qian Kun. Do you want a drink?”

☆

“Honey, I’m home!” Kun yells into the apartment as he arrives. He can hear Dejun giggle from further inside their home. “You wouldn’t believe what a day I’ve had. There were so many customers, and everybody wanted something different from the menu and none of them wanted the same kind of milk and so me and Sicheng-” he comes to a halt both with his rant and his walk. “Baby. What are you-”  
In front of him, and under his feet where he has stopped, lies tons of rose petals scattered all over the living room floor. It’s dark save for a few strings of fairy lights hung up, illuminating Dejun’s sharp features as he stands on one knee in the middle of it all. Kun’s heart physically stops.  
“Can you come here?” Dejun whines in that squeaky pitch he uses when he is impatient. “I don’t wanna scream this question half across our home.”  
Kun takes a few steps forward, happy there is nothing in his way because his eyes are teary and he can’t see shit. He comes to a halt right in front of his boyfriend, their toes poking each other through their socks.  
“I-” Dejun starts, but chokes up and tries laughing but it makes him actually start to cry, tears rolling down his perfectly chiseled cheeks. “Fuck. I had this whole speech planned and then you walk in and I- there are no words that feel strong enough but-” he clears his throat, and starts over. “When I saw you at that coffee shop, I just knew. It sounds so, so dumb but I am sure you know exactly what I’m talking about. There was this pull and I couldn’t _not_ walk through that door. And then I got shy and didn’t dare to ask for your number because fuck, that would have been so lame. Like am I trying to live in a romantic comedy or what?” he laughs, the tear tracks catching the fairy lights shine beautifully on his cheekbones. “I didn’t want to bother you because I thought I had no chance with such a person. But your friends, they gave me small hints and- this is embarrassing- but Guanheng told me that day that I should swing by the shop because you were all having a spontaneous after work and he said he had a good feeling.” Kun is going to slaughter Guanheng. It might be two years ago but that does not matter. “I was nervous the whole afternoon and at one point I decided to not go just to save myself from the embarrassment and rejection. But holy shit, I’m glad I didn’t.”  
Kun doesn’t know when he started bawling his eyes out, but he finds himself ugly crying and it’s a little bit awkward, but it’s so distinctively them that it doesn’t matter if he has snot on his lips. Dejun giggles, eyes sparkling as they lock gazes.  
“This was so bad, and I’m truly sorry for not properly proposing to you. But I just- it’s our two year anniversary since that freezing night and I-” he groans, wiping his face with the backside of his hand. “God damn it. Qian Kun, will you please do me the honors of becoming my husband?”  
Kun doesn’t answer, his voice won’t carry through air. Instead he chokes and falls to his knees, cupping Dejun’s cheeks between his hands and peppers his face with thousands of kisses. Dejun giggles, and Kun can’t stop smiling. He presses their lips together, kissing Dejun so hard he might bruise. When they pull apart, Dejun’s gaze is wild, pupils blown.  
“Should I take that as a yes?” he asks, stroking his thumb under Kun’s lower lashes, catching a tear. Kun rolls his eyes, it’s still somehow awkward after so long, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.  
“Of course, idiot! _Yes_.”

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

**Author's Note:**

> i hope u loved the suuuuper cheeezzzzyyyy ending and thank u for reading!  
> u know what to do ;3  
> until next time  
> uwus only  
> xx


End file.
